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In response to my post
"Economist Kern Alexander Explains the Problem with School
Choice" [Hake (2013)]

"Haim," in his
MathEdCC post, wrote (slightly edited):

"Kern Alexander,
according to his Univ. of Illinois faculty profile at
<http://bit.ly/TBlx14> has an Ed.D. in Educational
Administration from Indiana University in 1965; a diploma in
Educational Studies (with distinction) with two dissertations from
Oxford University, Pembroke College <http://bit.ly/YyZiYG>,
1977. KERN ALEXANDER IS NOT AN ECONOMIST. . . . [[my CAPS]] . . . .
."

To which GS Chandy, after
listing some of Alexander's interests and qualifications reported at
<http://bit.ly/TBlx14>, replied: "I believe [his interests
and qualifications] indicate that Professor Alexander probably has
considerably more right to describe himself as an 'economist' than has
Haim to pronounce on his economics or lack thereof."

Well said, GS Chandy, except
that, as far as I know: (a) Kern Alexander has never publicly
described himself as an economist (nor does Wikipedia
<http://bit.ly/VCD4V4>, nor does the Univ. of Illinois
<http://bit.ly/TBlx14>); (b) it was Diane Ravitch (2013) who
applied the adjective "economist" to Kern Alexander in her
blog entry "An Economist Explains the Problem with
Choice."

I think Ravitch was right in her designation, despite the
protestations of "Haim."

My online dictionary tells me
that an economist is "an expert in economics," and
that economics is "the branch of knowledge concerned with
the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth." Amazon.com
lists at <http://amzn.to/11ikQ0V> six books by Alexander, three
with titles "Public School Finance," "Education and
Economic Growth," and "Economic Sanctions, " suggesting
that the books concern "the production, consumption, and transfer
of wealth." Therefore I think Alexander qualifies to be classed
as an economist, even though he has an Ed.D. and (evidently) no
formal degree in economics.

**************************
The story goes that tuition voucher schools and charter schools are
creatures of the spirit of capitalism and that public funding of them
will increase competition, making all schools more efficient and
academically better, especially public schools. For that theory to
work it is hypothesized that parents as "rational people will
make choices as to the education of their children in perfect
markets." In the realm of economics, this reasoning is called the
"rational
expectations hypothesis" or the "efficient markets
hypothesis" - see "The Myth of the Rational Market"[Fox
(2011, p. 178)] at <http://amzn.to/Wd4ukl>.
**************************
################################

Brock, J. 2011. Review of Fox
(2011), International Review of Economics Education 10(1): 130-132;
online as a 139 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/Wd5lRY>. Brock wrote:
"The book is a masterfully documented and engaging history of the
rise and the fall of the efficient market hypothesis (EMH). The
history spans from the early 20th Century insights of mathematician
Louis Bachelier and economist Irving Fisher to the recent sparring
among economists - notably the University of Chicago's Eugene Fama and
Dick Thaler.

Chandy, GS. 2013. "Re:
Economist Kern Alexander Explains the Problem with School Choice,"
online on the OPEN MathEdCC archives at <http://bit.ly/XjHNJ3>.
Post of 03 Feb 3 11:58 PM (the MathForum fails to specify he
time zone).

Fox, J. 2011. "The Myth
of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on
Wall Street." Harper Business, publisher's information at
<http://bit.ly/WHVh1T>. Amazon.com information at
<http://amzn.to/Wd4ukl> note the searchable "Look Inside"
feature. For reviews see Brock (2011) and Krugman (2009).

"Haim." 2013.
"Re: Economist Kern Alexander Explains the Problem with School
Choice," online on the OPEN MathEdCC archives at
<http://bit.ly/UlsV2a>. Post of 03 Feb 12:36 AM (the
MathForum fails to specify he time zone).

Hake, R.R. 2013.
"Economist Kern Alexander Explains the Problem with School
Choice," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at
<http://bit.ly/WIdRH5>. Post of 02 Feb 2013 13:00:30-0800 to
AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are
being transmitted to several discussion lists and are also on my blog
"Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/We8IrV> with a
provision for comments.

Krugman, P. 2009. "School
for Scoundrels," review of Fox (2011), New York Times Book
Review, online at <http://nyti.ms/WdJbiq>. Krugman wrote:
"Do we really need yet another book about the financial crisis?
Yes, we do - because this one is different. Instead of focusing on the
errors and abuses of the bankers, Fox, the business and economics
columnist for Time magazine, tells the story of the professors who
enabled those abuses under the banner of the financial theory known as
the efficient-market hypothesis. Fox's book is not an idle exercise in
intellectual history, which makes it a must-read for anyone who wants
to understand the mess we're in. Wall Street bought the ideas of the
efficient-market theorists, in many cases literally: professors were
lavishly paid to design complex financial strategies. And these
strategies played a crucial role in the catastrophe that has now
overtaken the world economy."